"Telemiscommunications" is a song by Canadian electronic music producer

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

and English singer

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap ( ; born 9 December 1977) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. She is considered a pioneer in pop music, particularly electropop, and in music technology. While attending the ...

. It was released on March 12, 2013, by

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Group. Company history Established in 1995 in New York City by Patrick Moxey, a former executive of PolyGram and Virgin Records ...

as the fifth single from Deadmau5's sixth studio album '' Album Title Goes Here'' and the seventh single from Imogen Heap's fourth studio album '' Sparks''. The song is an

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

whose lyrics depict a dysfunctional phone conversation.

Background and release

Work on "Telemiscommunications" began after Deadmau5 emailed Heap. According to Deadmau5, the two never met in person, and only sent two emails and made two phone calls to one another during the making of the song. On September 25, 2012, "Telemiscommunications" appeared as the thirteenth track on the 2012 album '' Album Title Goes Here''. It was released with four remixes as a remix EP on March 12, 2013, through Zimmerman's label

Mau5trap Mau5trap (stylized as mau5trap; pronounced "mousetrap") is a Canadian independent record label founded in 2007 by electronic music producer Deadmau5. The label was formerly a vanity label, hosting releases through labels such as Ultra Music, V ...

Composition

"Telemiscommunications" is an ambient

with elements of

glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...

. The song's lyrics are written partially as a phone conversation, with Heap singing about yearning for the touch of the person on the other end, and are a social commentary on the effect of technology on relationships. Instrumentally, it features "atmospheric" percussion and "somber" piano chords. Writing for ''Billboard'', Gordon Murray described "Telemiscommunications" as "decidedly mellow", while ''Rolling Stone India'' called Heap's vocals on the song "mellow" and "otherworldly". '' Paste''s Megan Farokhmanesh described the song as "slow" and "somber".

Critical reception

David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

identified "Telemiscommunications" as one of the "most rewarding moments" on ''Album Title Goes Here'', describing it as a "beautiful electro-

haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

". ''

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

s Andy Baber named the song as a stand out track on ''Sparks'', writing that its "minimal tapping beat and swarming atmospherics provid the perfect accompaniment to Heap’s always engaging vocal". Andrew Lockwood of Contactmusic.com also singled out "Telemiscommunications" as one of the "highs" and "undoubtedly great standalone tracks" on ''Sparks''. For

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, Louis Pattinson wrote that the song was the only time on ''Album Title Goes Here'' that Deadmau5 "really find something approaching emotion". Writing for

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

, Darryl G. Wright described the song as "filler" on ''Album Title Goes Here'', writing that it was "too minimal to be interesting" with a beat that "distracts". John Calvert of ''Fact'' wrote that "Telemiscommunications" was "destined for some self-satisfied American independent film about a 20-something man who’s really a boy, and his kooky love interest."

Music video

The music video for "Telemiscommunications" was released on March 12, 2013, during a

Google+ Google+ (sometimes written as Google Plus, stylized as G+ or g+) was a Social networking service, social network owned and operated by Google until it ceased operations in 2019. The network was launched on June 28, 2011, in an attempt to challe ...

Hangout with Deadmau5 and Heap. The video features animations from 20 different animators, submitted as part of an international contest held by Heap.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2013 singles Deadmau5 songs Imogen Heap songs Synth-pop ballads Songs written by Imogen Heap 2012 songs Songs written by Deadmau5 Ultra Music singles Song recordings produced by Imogen Heap